Doctors say they can boost the odds donated organs will be usable by restarting blood circulation with a pump after donors are declared dead. Critics say the procedure blurs the definition of death.
Dr. Marty Sellers, wearing a red scrub cap, and his team from Tennessee Donor Services perform a normothermic regional perfusion organ recovery at a hospital in eastern Tennessee.It’s late on a Friday afternoon at the Nashville International Airport when Dr. Marty Sellers hops out of a van and strides towards a small private jet idling on the runway."It replenishes the oxygen deprivation that the organs incur during the dying process," says Sellers.
"So when we put them on ice to be transported to the recipient center, the organs are in a healthier state and therefore when they get into the recipient they perform better immediately and long term," Sellers says. "The worry is if there were some brain blood flow that certain parts of the brain could potentially continue functioning and then the person wouldn't be dead," says Dr., a professor emeritus of neurology at Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine."I don't think it would be conceivable that they would be awake. But from a point of view of 'Is the donor dead or not?' it would require zero blood flow to the brain to prove that.
The team retreats to a nearby office to wait and orders a takeout dinner. Finally, several hours later, it looks like one of the operating rooms will open up. So the team heads back to the hospital to change into scrubs and camp out in a surgeons lounge, where a panel of video screens on the wall show what's happening in each operating room.Karen"Susie" Phillips, right, suffered a head injury in a car accident that made her a candidate for organ donation.
"The two nurses will say: 'She has passed,'"Howell says."We’ll utilize the five minutes of observation time to roll in here. The nurses will make sure at that five-minute mark that there’s been no autoresuscitation. And then will move forward with the recovery." It’s well past midnight when the team gets word that the donor’s breathing tube has been removed, starting the 90-minute clock ticking.
The 90-minute mark quietly passes. The organ retrieval is canceled. The patient is wheeled back into her hospital room. This case illustrates the many ways it’s so hard to get enough organs for transplantation, despite everyone’s best efforts. It also shows why some doctors like Sellers are trying everything they can to improve the odds.
Sellers and his organ recovery team flew in from Nashville this morning to try again to retrieve a liver and two kidneys from another donor. Finally, about a half-hour later the right saw arrives. The donor’s bed is wheeled from intensive care to a room near the operating room. That’s where her life support will be withdrawn and the family can say goodbye."The family has the desire for her to be an organ donor, and really couldn’t think of a better way to end the chapter in her life than to extend her legacy and save the lives of others," says Randall Statzer, an organ recovery coordinator with the Tennessee Donor Services.
The pump is finally on, restoring circulation to the abdominal organs. Sellers starts working to remove the liver and kidneys. But he quickly discovers bad news.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
F1 News: FIA Hits Back At 2026 Regulation CriticsThe FIA responds to team concerns about the 2026 F1 regulations.
Read more »
Critics’ Choice Association’s Inaugural LGBTQ Celebration Photos: Quinta Brunson, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez & MoreCharlize Theron, Ricky Martin and Quinta Brunson were among the attendees at the CCA's inaugural Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television.
Read more »
Alameda County DA Pamela Price critics, supporters clash at recall rallyA Pamela Price recall campaign kickoff rally on Saturday morning turned heated and confrontational.
Read more »
Don’t turn Revolutionary War site into more N.J. warehouses, critics sayHistorical documents show British troops encamped on the 61 acres of New Jersey farmland where a developer has proposed building two warehouses, opponents say.
Read more »
Ex-California mayor praises guaranteed basic income, says critics are ‘unenlightened,’ ‘out of touch’According to a report from the Boston Globe, a guaranteed basic income program seems to be a viable idea considering its positive reception from recipients in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Read more »
Toyota Long Term Outlook Positive As Critics GatherAs a former European Automotive correspondent for Reuters, I’ve a spent a few years writing about the industry. I will penetrate the corporate hype and bluster and find out how these gigantic enterprises are really doing. I also love to drive their magnificent machines, and their more modest ones. I’ll be telling you if the technology works, too.
Read more »